Usually I write about children's books, but I've been known to wander.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Revisiting A Few Early Berta and Elmer Hader Books

Today I revisited three early titles illustrated by Berta and Elmer Hader. Stripey, A Little Zebra, Little Elephant, and A Monkey Tale. While the Hader's would become more well-known later in their careers for their Caldecott Honor Book Mighty Hunter and their Caldecott Award Winner The Big Snow, I find myself appreciating their earlier work more. At the time when they first started, many publishers limited artists based on the expense of reproducing color and half-tone artwork, particularly in the genre of picture books. What I appreciate about the Haders' early work is the way they worked masterfully within those limits.

Stripey, Little Elephant and A Monkey Tale were written by Hamilton Williamson and each book is about a different baby animal and how they use their natural abilities to survive. I really like these books and think they would still hold up today for very young readers.

I do think the Haders' later work is beautiful, but the books that they both wrote and illustrated don't seem to stand the test of time, with a few exceptions. Their Willow Hill stories are still very readable but have a quaint feeling that many young readers won't relate to. Nowadays they are collected, almost solely, for the artwork in the books and not the text.